Planning Your Start Planning a personal training business takes more than just getting the right certifications and having a good body. Just as with any business, you need to take your time to look at the market and what your appeal to clients will be. A personal trainer is a valuable commodity in today's health-obsessed market, however, a lot of people are getting into personal training without taking the time to really plan. However, you will be the personal trainer that succeeds because you understand that planning is really the key to success. The first thing that you will want to do when you're planning a personal training business is to consider what the local market is and how you will fit in. If your community is one that values health, you will find that it's a lot easier to break into the fitness business. However, if fitness isn't something that people want to spend their money on, you might find things a bit more difficult for personal training. When you see that your community might not be as responsive to another personal trainer, you might want to consider multiple geographic locations in order to find a market that's ready for you. If you're in a situation where there are a lot of personal trainers in your area, planning a personal training business can become more difficult. You will need to figure out a way to separate yourself from the masses of personal training services. This might require that you have multiple certifications, for example, so that you can train at a number of gyms and in a number of different ways. You might want to offer at-home personal training or be the personal trainer that picks up the client and takes them to the gym. Find a way to create a difference between you and everyone else. This might be easily done with a competitive pricing schedule; for example, pricing lower for more sessions purchased or giving free initial consultations and workouts. Another thing to consider when planning a personal training business is your own likes and dislikes in personal training. If you consider yourself an expert in training for marathons, for example, you might be able to establish a niche that focuses on marketing to runners or would-be runners. When you're an expert in a specific sport or goal, you will find that your personal training business becomes associated with that feature. Or you might want to create a personal training program that focuses on a certain group of clients; those that want to lose weight, those that want to train for a specific event, or those that want to lift heavier weights, as examples. When planning a personal training business, you will need to consider where you will be working out with your clients before you begin. If you have certain certifications, you will be able to use certain gyms and fitness centers. However, you will want to talk with these locations to see if they charge certain fees or if they require anything of you to plan your sessions. In some cases, you might be able to just come in as a personal trainer at the gym that your client belongs to, so it's in your best interest to begin close relationships with all of the local gyms so that you can be a regular visitor for your personal training sessions. How you will advertise is a great thing to consider as well when planning a personal training business. You will want to talk with other personal trainers to see what works for them in your area. Maybe you'll need a website or just a set of business cards to hand out at fitness related events. Others like to go the old-fashioned route and advertise in the phone book or newspaper. Try to have numerous locations where your information will be available and set up a phone line where you can be reached on a regular basis. If you're working with one gym exclusively, you may be able to advertise through them or they might list you in their personal trainer listings. Last but not least, when planning a personal training business, you will want to make sure that you are determining the hours that you will be available to train. If you're holding down another job at the same time, you will have limited hours to offer prospective personal trainer clients. A certain degree of flexibility and willingness to work with the client will be necessary, though your limits might work perfectly for some clients while not for others. Try to come up with a particular schedule of hours that you will be available so that clients will know when you offer personal training. Planning a personal training business isn't just a hobby that you can neglect when it seems too difficult. If you want to create a profitable personal training business, you will want to take your time in planning your business and make sure that you are ready for all of the personal trainer clients that want to see you.